To think you have to actually have a trolley or basket with some shopping in it before joining a checkout queue?

[101handbags]

In Sainsbury's on Saturday, I spotted the one till that didn't have a queue and wheeled my trolley over. There was a woman standing in front of me, and a few bits & pieces left on the conveyor belt, which I naturally assumed were hers. I was just about to start unloading my trolley onto the belt when a man appeared with an overloaded trolley, pushed in front of me and said 'Excuse me, I'm with her', indicating the woman in front of me. Now, I read a lot on here about people standing in car parking spaces to reserve them, but I have never, ever heard of people reserving spaces in the checkout queue. When I look back now, I remember us both approaching the checkout from different directions and the man indicating to the woman to run ahead to get there before me. I gave him the glare from hell and went to the next till. Afterwards I felt like such a doormat. I know I should have said 'I was here with my trolley first, I am not moving' but I didn't. I know I need to be more assertive. Please tell me how you would have reacted/what you would have said?

I would leave them a foot long space and see how much shopping they can fit into it :D

at FakePlasticLobsters 'sit off' and at VictorTango sailing off triumphantly!

There was a Lottiekins in front of me the other day but thankfully the queue got too long and her accomplice couldn't get through because of all the tutting and harrumphing so she was forced out of the queue.

I also hate the people who hover between two queues and then push their way into the fastest moving one while glaring at the person they're pushing in front of as if they're the cheeky ones.

in future I will be sure to stand in such a place that they can't get at the conveyor belt incase I come across you!

Not quite sure how you are going to manage that dear, unless you are as wide as a house.

wouldnt bother me as long as they're back by the time payment is needed

Hmmm. Reminds me of when I used to go to the supermarket with my Mum when I was still a child. Typically she would get me to stand in the queue with the trolley while she nipped off to get the last few things. But sometimes she would push this as far as she could and nip off several times while I was getting close to the front and getting a bit edgy.

Then one day she went too far. We were close to the front when she said she just had to get one last thing. However, she was gone longer than I expected and soon I was at the front of the queue. No sign of Mum so I turned to the lady behind and said she could go in front of me. That lady put her shoppping through and paid and still no sign so I let the next person through. Eventually, there was no-one behind me so I had to start unloading our stuff. Mum must have been gone several minutes by then. Anyway the shopping all got through the checkout and packed in bags - no Mum. I explained to the girl on the checkout and she looked a bit put out as she wanted to close her till and go have lunch. I said I would go and look for my Mum so I ran frantically around the shop and finally found her. Not rushing at all, not in any sense in a hurry - something had caught her eye so she was just browsing and had lost track of time

I dragged her to the checkout and she didn't seem to get at all why I was so upset with her - just kept saying "Well I am here now!"

But she never got the chance to do it again. After that I categorically refused to stand in the queue if she wasn't there. Even when she assured me that it was only for one thing and she would be two seconds I still refused and once actually pulled out of the queue when we were near the front and lost our place because she went off anyway. She was cross about it and told me I was "being silly" but I simply didn't trust her not to do it again. I think if she had shown one shred of embarassment about the other occasion or any sign that she realised she had been in the wrong then I might have given her a second chance. But she didn't seem to get it at all, so I point blank refused.

I bet Lottie grabs two trolleys if shopping alone. Parks one at the checkout then takes the other to fill up. After finishing her shop she can simply jump the queue as her trolley is already there, genius!

Oh don't go giving her ideas Robin.

5foot5

Your story reminds me of the time I was in Tesco and two kids in front of me were unpacking a trolley full of stuff which was simply being left at the end of the checkout unpacked. When all the stuff had been checked through the assistant said to the kids in some bewilderment 'is your mum going to pay for this. Where is she?' at which point the kids pointed to a glamorous young woman standing a few feet away chatting away on a mobile and called her over (she was apparently called Sarah). Sarah wandered over, still talking on the phone and proceeded to slowly pack all the shopping with one hand while the assistant had to help her and also apologise to the rest of the queue. Sarah then rooted for her purse, paid and wandered happily off completely oblivious to any annoyance she had caused.
Some people are just totally unaware of anyone but themselves. In fairness, I also got the impression Sarah wasn't exactly a contender for Mastermind.

Hurrah for fakeplasticlobsters!

I've noticed this more recently too. Most annoying. If I came across a Lottkins I would think she was a bit simple and smile widely at her and say "yes of course you do" and carry on as before. If she started throwing stuff we'd all look incrediy embarrassed for her (Waitrose you know) before security would take her away.

When I worked in the bank I heard some brilliant queue jumping excuses but my favourite was the woman who insisted she must go first to open a new account because she had left her baby at home on her own and she needed to get back. I replied slowly and loudly "you think you should go ahead of all of these people because you have left your baby at home alone?!". Cue disgusted looks and mutterings from the large queue. "Oh ok, I'll wait" she says

katie I hope she was joking!

Thankfully I am not so sad as to be thinking up ways of guarding my non existent spot in a supermarket checkout queue , I think Lottie is just on a wind up.

YANBU.

One or two items are okay IMO. I sometimes forget to get milk and my partner/friend/who ever is with me ets it or waits in the queue. But a whole trolley? Unbelievable!

OMG Katie! I would have let her go first, then looked up her address and anonymously called the police on her. Silly bitch.

Lobster I love your swimming pool story! You could have snuggled up to the man as he had his arm around your chair, just to really push the awkwardness through the roof

It is quite silly and rude to do that. one thing i may do is start to unpack and then go and get something else if I have genuinely forgotten one thing and I usually tell the cashier or someone behind.

usually the person in front is still packing their shopping etc.

I should imagine people do this in Costco as well.

It just seems a very selfish way to behave. why can't they queue like everyone else and it makes other people resentful.

Lottikins , some unasked for advice , you oviously are not in Scotland ,Glasgow in particular , if u ever find yourself in Glasgow do not try your method re tills, i promise you , as they wheeled you into A&E you would be "wearing" the conveyor belt, the till ,and most likely most of the food in your overfilled trolley, we may be poor ,we may be oop north , we deffo have a very set method of q"ing ! emphasise on deffo!.

5foot. It doesn't bother me if some goes and get something they have forgotten I'm mean we have all done that at one time or another.

But as for leaving to go to the loo with a trolly full of shopping at the till. I've done this but as I go shopping with my mum. She tends to carry on doing mine and packing.

But as I leave her my purse and I use cash she can pay if she needs to.

No she wasn't joking. The account was for the baby so hardly a massive priority.

I gave her 30 seconds to get out and go home to her baby before I called social services. She went.

She came back later with the baby. Astounding nerve! It was a particularly deprived area of London and we used to have quite a few interesting people.

Queue jumping doesnt happen at my usual supermarket for the simple reason the gaps between the tills are too narrow to push a trolley past a customer ahead of you in the queue. They must have designed them like tvat on purpose i think! Its a cheapo supermarket but people are generally v polite. Ther's an unwritten code that if you have a full trolley you let someone with only 1 or 2 items go ahead of you.

I kept my eye on the tills this afternoon whilst doing a little shopping and I'm a bit sad to report we do not have any till hoggers

I wanted to be ale to use my face whilst asking "Lottie is that you?"

I wanted to be ale to use my face whilst asking "Lottie is that you?"

Fakeplasticlobsters, I am cracking up laughing at the image of you with the 'angry stranger's arm' around you. You are my hero! To the OP,yes,I did face down someone once at a checkout,who tried to barge past,on the pretext that she had stuff left on the display stand by the till,therefore was entitled to go ahead of me. I said,calmly,politely,no,it's a queue,and she gave in,after muttering a few expletives at me. Usually I am a bit of a wuss in these situations.

I bet Lottikins name changes before she reappears :-)

I am astounded at the need for queue space saving. What magicala amazing shop do you all visit that is so popular? Even at Christmas I have never had to wait more than about 5 minutes.

There are some right nobs in the world.

FakePlasticLobsters - I salute you. What a fantastic story! Love it.

Lottikins - not so much.